Friday, August 13, 2010

Perfumer's Palette - Liatris

Liatris is listed as a note in my new HG fragrance , Seve Exquise . I know I will never own a bottle . And That's OK .

*sob*

Inquiring minds want to know , and when I don't know , I go lookin' .

Liatris , or liatrix is a note I have never heard of !

Also called Deer Tongue , Liatris odoratissima is native to Florida ! It grows in moist pine flatwoods , but not marshy areas and that is just where I live . Do you think I'm going to go looking for some liatris ?

Posessing a somewhat vanilla - like scent , liatris also has herbaceous, hay , and tobacco facets and in the 1900's was used to flavor tobacco . It is no longer harvested commercially , tobacco is now flavored artificially . ( of course it is...)

Liatris grows about 2-4 feet in height , blooming in late summer . The leaves are thick and fleshy and have a distinct vanilla odor when dried .

The main odor constiuent is coumarin , seen as white crystals on the leaves and flowers .

Liatris is in the sunflower family , closely related to the cultivated garden flower known as Blazing Star . In the heat of summer in it's woodland habitat , it perfumes the very air around it . Some sources say it was originally used to replace the more expensive Tonka Bean . Liatris does not yield an oil through distillation , but an oleoresin can be extracted from the dried leaves through hydrocarbon solvents .

Drawing #3 on Monday , lavender and bergamot fragrances , and if Diana doesn't claim her prize drawing from last week , you get her goodies too ! Plus , a few precious drops of Seve Exquise !

I'm really loving your posts on the single notes. I've been going back to my box of essential oils & absolutes for a refresher course. The Tolu & Peru Balsam I've always liked. The Tolu I find has some powder to it & the Peru more vanilla. I've even used Benzoin Tincture (from the drugstore) in homemade potions. It has that medicinal note to it that reminds me of the Caron base (esp. Nuit de Noel). I also have a selection of Lavenders. I think it's interesting how different they are. I think it's the Seville Lavender that smells like Hay. The one that amazes me the most is Galbanum. How can something so shocking & intensely green make perfumes so gorgeous? When you smell it & then Miss Dior & Bandit, you realize just how much of it they used. I think that's been my favorite thing about perfume, it makes you learn to appreciate & enjoy smells that may have at one time seemed offensive. Perfumes have been a fun education! -MELISCENTS-

there are different varieties of lavender....I would love the Seville , cuz the scent of hay is the scent of my youth !I used to really struggle with galbanum , but now I enjoy it .The more I smell , the more I SMELL...

I never would have known it as Liatris... but as deertongue, it's very familiar! (My mother is probably cursing me right now, since Latin botanical nomenclature is something she has always insisted on for her gardens...)

RE: lavendar... My favorite lavendar is a tiny vial of essential oil that a friend (now sadly passed) brought back for me from a lavendar farm in Quilcene, Washington. I apply it neat, or with just a thin layer of amber beneath, and find that its intense radiance needs no other embellishment. But Jicky and Mouchoir de Monsieur runs a close tie for second! :D

If it's not too late, Carol, count me in for the Palette drawing.... and keep writing them, please. They are fascinating, and for everything that I take from them, I really ought to comment more often! :P

Hi Isa -I have never smelled the Aqua de Lavanda , but I love Acqua di Parma's Lavanda Tonica . I have an adorable mini bottle of that .Olenska -Glad you are enjoying the little tidbits I find ! You're in the draw !Chris G - Thank you ! You're in...

I am thoroughly loving this series (came back from vacation and read all about oakmoss and orris root and patchouli and neroli and lavender and....you get the picture, all in one sitting.) But liatris? That's a perfume ingredient I haven't heard of yet.